Process of producing phosphor-copper compounds.



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HYIiEMAN ALISON WEBSTER, 01f" COLUMBIA, TENNESSEE, ASSIGHQB. T0 JQHN JEFFERSON GRAY, J'Ba, OF ROGKDALE, TENNESSEE.

BBOGESS 0E PRODUCING PHOSIBHOR-COPPER. COMPOUNDS.

1,265,150. No Drawing.

To all whom it mayconcern:

Be it known that I, HYLEMAN Anson WEBSTER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Columbia, in the county of Maury and State of Tennessee, have invented cer-- tai'n new and useful Improvements in Processesof Producing Phosphor-Copper Compounds; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains' to make and use the same.

This invention relates to a continuous process of producing compositions, or compounds of copper and phosphorus, and has for its object to provide a method which will attain these results when using a basic phosphate as a sourceof phosphorus in a more efficient and less costly manner than has been heretofore proposed.

VViththis and other objects in view the inventionconsists in the novel steps and combinations of steps constituting the, process all as will be more fully hereinafter disclosed and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood it is said :It has long been known that compounds, alloys or physical mixtures of copper and phosphorus, could be made by introducing elemental phosphorus into copper. But the cost of this method of procedure has been found to be so high on account of the almost rohibitive cost and limited supply of pure p osphorus,

that the employment or use of these highly useful compositions of copper containing phosphids has been greatly curtailed.

According to this invention," on the other hand, I produce compositions containing-'- copper and phosphorus such as copper phosphids, in a blast furnace, in an electric furnace, or in any other suitable furnace by smelting a charge of the character mentioned below. That is to say, selecting a blast furnace as an example only, I may employ a charge consisting substantially of: silicia SiO 1.1 parts to one part GaO. Phosphorus ascertained by calculation based on the percentage of tricalciumphosphate in the phosphate rock, 1 part to 2 parts of copper; coke in excess. say 1 part to 2 parts Specification of Letters-Patent.

Patented- Ma a, 1918.

Applicationfiled December 28, 1918. Serial No. 139,848.

of the charge. More specifically stated a blast furnace charge may be made up as follows Tricalcium phosphate rock i000 lbs. Quartz 2120 Copper 12 00 Coke 3600 .In case an electric furnace is used that portion of the carbon employed in a blast furnace for the purpose of gencratingheat and maintaining the temperature alone, will. not be needed for this said heat will be furnished by the current.

In the same Way, a lesser quantity ofsilica will be required owing to the higher temperature of the electric furnace. The exact proportions of carbon and silica as well as of copper and phosphate rock will be readily determined by the skilled furnace man. Ill the case of a blast furnace it is desirable to use-a hot blast, to restrict its amount of air to say 7 pounds to each pound of coke when working with the above mentioned charge, and it is preferred to preheat this said air high as possible as say up to 1800 F. This enables me to limit the boundaries of the. fusion zone, for with a limited quantity of highly heated air the combustion is found not to spread so- Widely and to be more in "tense in the fusion zone than isthecase when air at a lower temperature and in a greater quantity is employed. The higher temperature is probably due to the preheated air, and the restricted fusion zone is probably due to its limited quantity. The advantage of thus maintaining'a very high 10- calized temperature and an excess of carbon in the fusion zone is to deoxidize the evolved P 0 to elemental phosphorus P, as fast as too much of the carbon of the charge before The temperatures best suited to the decomposition reactions in said fusion zone range from say 3100 F. down to say 1500 F. At

a red heat or at about 1400 F. or 1500 F.

the copper begins to absorb the phosphorus vapors and to form cuprous phosphids such as Cu l and this absorption will continue all the way up to the volatilization point of the copper and even beyond said point. This said compound C11 1 dissolves in the copper present, and therefore, it serves to gradually increase the phosphorus content of the whole copper mass in the furnace and this dissolving action continues until a series of solid solutions are formed.

In carrying out this invention, in order to facilitate the permeation of the copper by the free phosphorus, I preferably maintain the partial pressures of the evolved constituents above that of the normal, so that the hosphorus being under an abnormal. partial pressure, it will more fully saturate the copper than would otherwise be the case. This said partial pressure may conveniently be made as high as that which would accompany several pounds pressure of the blast above that which is normally employed in pig iron furnaces and is best attained by throttling to a proper degree the downcomer of the furnace. By thus increasing the pressure inside said furnace without increasing the air admitted, and at the same time producing a sufficient quantity of free phosphorus by employing a very high temperature of the blast, a limited quantity of air and thus restricting the fusion zone I. am enabled to so thoroughly impregnate the copper present as to produce phosphids of copper of the composition of Cu P and even higher compounds of phosphorus and copper, possibly up to and including the phosphid CuP.

By carrying out the foregoing process it will now be seen that I am enabled to impregnate copper with any certain, definite percentages of phosphorus from say 4% up to 33%, and that I am thus enabled to sup ply phosphor-copper compounds for the varied uses now found in the arts, as a product of the blast furnace. ()n the other hand, when it is desired to produce smaller quantities of said product, I may employ an electric type of furnace. In such latter case 1n order to reduce the P 0 evolved to elemental phosphorus, I also employ an excess of carbon, but I do not employ any carbon as a source of heat for the heat in such case. as stated above, is furnished by the current. Further when an electric furnace is em ployed, air is carefully excluded therefrom.

What I claim is I 1. The process of producing phosphorcopper compounds which consists in providing a charge containing copper bearing material, silica, phosphorus bearing material and sufficient carbon to liberate and reduce phosphorus oxide to elemental phosphorus: and heating said charge to a temperature sufficient to cause said elemental phosphorus to impregnate the copper present, substantially as described.

2. The process of producing phosphorcopper compounds in a blast furnace which consists in providing a charge of copper bearing material, silica, phosphate rock, and a sufficient .excess of carbon to reduce any evolved phosphorus oxids to elemental phos phorus; admitting air preheated above 1150 F. to said furnace in restricted predetermined quantities; and raising the tempera ture of said charge material to a point sufficient to cause the reduced phosphorus to enter said copper, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I atfix my signature.

HYLEMAN ALISON WEBSTER. 

